“Beware the qualifier” is a common refrain in elite tennis circles – as Emma Raducanu knows all too well.
Ahead of her fourth-round clash with New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun, the Grand Slam-winning Brit had spoken of the challenge she faced against the world No.123: “You don't qualify and make the fourth round if you're not extremely dangerous, beating the players she has."
It proved a prescient perspective for the local favourite; after two hours and 50 minutes of inspired and aggressive tennis, the 23-year-old Sun recorded a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Raducanu to reach the first Grand Slam quarter-final of her career.
“I don’t even have the words right now,” said Sun through both tears and laughter, having kept her emotions firmly in check until then.
As she awed with her guile and accuracy in the match’s early stages, Sun’s poise in the biggest occasion of her career so far had been more impressive still.
Sun was not only making her maiden appearance on the world’s most famous Centre Court but competing in a Wimbledon singles main draw for the first time.
After three wins in qualifying – including a match point saved in the second round against Czech Gabriela Knutson – at Roehampton, Sun has struck the form of her life on the All England Club grass. An upset of No.8 seed Qinwen Zheng was the first top 50 win of her career, with further upsets coming against Yuliia Starodubtseva and Lin Zhu.
Sun appreciated her underdog status in a first career match with the Brit – if not in ranking, then at least in sentiment and experience. Raducanu, the current world No.135, is working her way back up the rankings after significant surgeries, having claimed the US Open title as a teenager qualifier in 2021.
But if all the cheers were for Raducanu at the outset, Sun soon had at least some local supporters on side. The left-hander simply dazzled with her aggressive tennis in the 39-minute opener; an immediate break of serve was extended to a 3-0 advantage, with Sun tallying 15 winners, compared to two from Raducanu, as she took a decisive lead.
With her big-stage experience, the local star gradually lifted and increasingly pressured Sun throughout the second set. While she couldn’t quite convert a pair of early break point opportunities, she saved three of her own and, helped by a dazzling forehand winner, finally levelled in the 12th game.
If the crowd was firmly on side for Raducanu, luck was unfortunately not. After a heavy fall in the first game of the deciding set, the Brit was treated for injury. Sun seized all momentum on resumption and rode it to a life-changing win.
“It was a great match against her and she really dug deep in there to get the win from me,” Sun said. “I really had to fight tooth and nail against her because she's obviously going to run for every ball and fight until the end.”
Recording her seventh straight match won at The Championships, Sun is building on a successful formula.
She’d gained some grass court tennis lessons, she explained, from watching Wimbledon matches featuring Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer on YouTube. With 23 of 28 points won at the net against Raducanu, she’s clearly learned those lessons well.
Already in new territory as the first woman representing New Zealand to reach Wimbledon’s final 16 in the Open Era, Sun will target more history as she faces Donna Vekic in the quarter-finals.
